Microform and microfilm readers have been widely used for at least the last twenty years. These readers are generally bulky machines that are used in an office or factory to recall stored information printed on microfiche or microforms. Most commonly, this information comprises parts lists, drawings or records concerning manufactured products. Other uses include the storage of facsimile copies of historical documents, patient records, magazines and newspapers.
In applications relating to manufactured products, field maintenance of vehicles and machines may require only occasional reference to microforms. Use of a standard microform reader in the field is inefficient since it requires the maintenance of a relatively large and unwieldy device for occasional consultation. This is certainly a poor use of space in many confined areas. Microform readers are therefore often retained only at central locations and are unavailable in the field for consultation by a technician or repairman. It is ironic that microform storage of valuable information saves great amounts of space but may limit access to that information.
In view of the above a need exists for a portable, lightweight microform reader that can be easily stored and transported. Such a reader would greatly increase the value of microform and microfiche information storage since it would greatly increase microform accessibility to field and factory personnel. Previous attempts have therefore been made to produce foldable and portable machines. These attempts have not been completely successful due to a number of circumstances.
Primarily, an outstanding problem with collapsible microform machines is that the movable nature of the structure results in inferior optics which make it very difficult to read the microform. Poor optics result from slight variations in the distances between the lenses due to the lack of rigidity of portable machines.
Another problem with such machines has been their relatively high weight resulting from the use of conventional glass screens and optics. Machine weight must be reduced to permit truely portable machines.
In view of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight portable microform reader having superior optics.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a portable microform reader which can be easily assembled and disassembled.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a microform reader that can be easily stored in a small space.